Motor Verso: Honda Civic Tourer 1.6 i-DTEC SR Manual 7 Day Diary

Here are my thoughts on the Honda Civic Tourer 1.6 i-DTEC SR after my week-long test drive.

Day 1 – Honda Civic Tourer First Impressions

Taking a look at the Honda Civic Tourer for the first time was quite a treat, and I’d go so far to say that I prefer it to the hatchback. This face-lift model has the same improvements as the hatch, including the piano black gloss trim over the front bumper, darker wheel-arch garnishes and newly designed alloy wheels.

Inside the car, at first glance, it looks like there is quite a lot going on, but after about 10 minutes you soon settle in to understand what everything does.

Day 2 – Killer Traffic

Unfortunately I got caught in some killer traffic on my second day with the car. But sitting in the Civic Tourer wasn’t too bad to be fair, and it gave me the opportunity to mess with all the settings too. Most of the buttons inside the car are chunky, clicky, and feel very durable, which I would like to think means they’ll last. The infotainment system has a fair few options on it, which could take some time to get used to.

Driving the car through traffic, the stop/start technology is quick to cut in and will save you money when you don’t need the engine running, which is always great news. As soon as you are in neutral with your foot off the clutch the car will turn itself off, and once you depress the clutch, the car will fire up again. The gearing works well with the 1.6-litre i-DTEC engine, even with 120bhp it still seems to power the car along at super low revs.

Ross and I took the car out in the evening to shoot it in a dark urban environment. You can see some of the places we visited in the video below.

http://youtu.be/pk8Z-L50avA

Day 3 – Motorway Monster

I took the Honda Civic Tourer on an epic 260 mile, 6 hour, round trip to collect some Range Rover tyres. In one evening I learnt more about the car than I think you could do in a week. Here are a couple of things I picked up;

MPG – On my trip I encountered lots of traffic and also 40mph restricted passages of the motorway, due to roadworks, but I still managed to return an average of 62mpg. This was without really trying too hard to conserve fuel as well. I was very impressed with the economy of this car, I knew the 1.6 i-DTEC was going to be good, but I had no idea it was this good.

Adaptive Damper System - Going mile after mile on the motorway I had plenty of time to test out the different modes on the Adaptive Damper System – dynamic, normal and comfort. You can tell the difference instantly when you swap between the modes. In dynamic the car feels more rigid and stiffer on the road, and in comfort the car absorbs the bumps nicely, but does tend to bounce when you go over a large bump. Normal mode, as you would expect sits between the two. On the motorway the comfort setting was my preference, but I could see why you may want the other options on more demanding roads.

Boot Load Space – The boot is huge. Once I arrived to collect my tyres I dropped the rear two seats flat in a matter of seconds, removed the parcel shelf easily, and I was all set. In went 4 large 20″ tyres and there was still some space left over, for a compact estate car you really don’t need more room than this.

Take a look at the time-lapse of the return journey below.

http://youtu.be/r9zG7THY1JM

Day 4 – What do others think of it?

Off out with some friends for the evening and I was designated driver, so took the Civic Tourer; I enjoy hearing other people’s thoughts on the cars I have on test and this was the perfect opportunity. The 2-tier dashboard design was a hit; everyone really seemed to like this look, which you get in both the Tourer and the hatchback. There were also lots of comments on the overall exterior design, and for an everyday economical car it’s not a bad looking motor.

Day 5 – Late Night Comfortable Car

Friday I didn’t get to spend as much time in the car as I would have liked, but I did get to take a very rainy trip across town late at night in the Tourer. 5 days in and I have warmed to the car; I like all the practicalities of the car, and although it’s not fast, and it’s not super exciting to drive, it is good at doing all the necessary and required things really well. In the real world, when we have constant traffic, terrible weather, and high fuel prices sometimes you want a car that is warm, comfortable and economical. The Civic Tourer in the SR spec and with the 1.6-litre i-DTEC engine really hits the nail on the head with its comfy heated seats and high MPG engine. It just feels right for everyday use.

Day 6 – Great Infotainment System

The infotainment system is a big feature for me, and I would imagine for anyone that spends a lot of time in the car too. The Civic Tourer’s base sound system is actually pretty good, the sound is loud and of great quality, and there are a couple of ways to connect your phone or MP3 player, making it easy to listen to what you want; it’s a great system. Being completely honest it did take me a while to figure out what all the buttons and menu options do on the infotainment system, but after a day or so I quite liked it.

Day 7 – Photoshoot Time

As with all cars we review, myself and Ross Jukes try and get the best possible pictures of the car to show the car through our eyes. We had an early start on a stereotypical British grey and miserable day to shoot the Honda Civic.

We took the car to a scouted rural area to get some nice shots in a country environment, we then moved into a small town to get a bit more of an urban look. We took some great pictures and video, well we think their pretty good anyway, take a look;

http://youtu.be/IdRhCBQgSB0

I was certainly sad to see this car go back, and it got me thinking about the possibilities of a Honda Civic Tourer Type R…maybe one day.